Histories

href="#noteref-580" epub:type="backlink">↩

οὐ λήγουσα εἰ μὺ νόμῳ. ↩

I.e. 100,000 fathoms, equivalent to 1000 stades; see II. 6, note 10. ↩

οὐδὲ συμβάλλειν ἀξίη. ↩

II. 158. ↩

βρωτὰ: some MSS. have πρόβατα “cattle.” ↩

ὅμοια παρεχομένη: the construction is confused, but the meaning is that all but the Eastern parts are known to be surrounded by sea. ↩

λόγιον: some MSS. have λόγιμον, “of reputation.” ↩

Stein reads εἰσὶ δὴ for εἰσὶ δέ, and punctuates so that the meaning is, “it has become the greatest of all rivers in the following manner:⁠—besides other rivers which flow into it, those which especially make it great are as follows.” ↩

πέντε μὲν οἱ: this perhaps requires emendation, but the corrections proposed are hardly satisfactory, e.g. πέντε μεγάλοι or πέντε μόνοι. ↩

Or “Skios”: called by Thucydides “Oskios” (II. 96). ↩

ἔτι: most of the MSS. give ἐστι, which is adopted by some Editors. ↩

“Sacred Ways.” ↩

Γερρέων: in some MSS. Γέρρου, “the region called Gerros.” ↩

τεσσεράκοντα: some Editors have altered this number, but without authority or sufficient reason. ↩

δι’ ἐρήμου: see note 25 on ch. 18. The region here spoken of is that between the Gerrians and the agricultural Scythians. ↩

ἐς τὠυτὸ ἕ: i.e. the Dneiper-Liman. (The Medicean and Florentine MSS. read ἐς τὸ ἕλος, not ἐς τὸ τέλος, as hitherto reported.) ↩

ἐὸν ἔμβολον τῆς χώρης. ↩

Μητρὸς: i.e. the Mother of the gods, Kybele, cp. ch. 76; some less good authorities have Δήμετρος. ↩

ῥέει δὲ: most MSS. have ῥέει μὲν γὰρ. ↩

Or, “Apia.” ↩

Or, “Goitosyros.” ↩

The MSS. have also “Arippasa” and “Artimpasa.” ↩

The authorities have also “Thagimasa” and “Thamimasidas.” ↩

τῶν ἀρχηίων: some read by conjecture ἐν τῷ αρχηίῳ, “at the seat of government,” or “in the public place.” ↩

ἕσον τ’ ἐπὶ σταδίους τρεῖς. ↩

ὑπὸ τῶν χειμώνων. ↩

ἀκινάκης. ↩

ἄγαλμα: see note 19 on ch. 15. ↩

κατά περ βαίτας. ↩

Or, “and put them together in one bundle.” ↩

See I. 105. ↩

κυπέρου: it is not clear what plant is meant. ↩

I.e. for this purpose. The general use of bronze is attested by ch. 81. ↩

ὧδε ἀναβιβάζοντες, ἐπεὰν κ.τ.λ: the reference of ὧδε is directly to the clause ἐπεὰν⁠—τραχήλου, though in sense it refers equally to the following, κάτωθεν δε κ.τ.λ. Some Editors punctuate thus, ὧδε ἀναβιβάζοντες ἐπεὰν and omit δὲ after κάτωθεν, making the reference of ὧδε to the latter clause alone. ↩

ὠρύονται, as in III. 117, but here they howl for pleasure. ↩

Like the Egyptians for example, cp. II. 91. ↩

μήτε γε ὦν ἀλλήλων: the MSS. have μή τί γε ὦν ἀλλήλων. Most Editors read ἄλλων for ἀλλήλων and alter the other words in various ways (μή τοί γε ὦ, μὴ τοιγαρῶν etc.), taking μὴ as in μὴ ὅτι (ne dicam aliorum). The reading which I have adopted is based on that of Stein, who reads μήτε τεῶν ἄλλων and quotes VII. 142, οὔτε γε ἄλλοισι Ἑλλήνων. With ἄλλων the meaning is, “rejecting those of other nations and especially those of the Hellenes.” For the use of μή after φεύγειν cp. II. 91. ↩

Or, according to some MSS., “as they proved in the case of Anacharsis and afterwards of Skyles.” ↩

γῆν πολλήν. ↩

ἐπιτρόπου. ↩

πέπλασται: some authorities give πέπαισται, “has been invented as a jest.” ↩

ἐς χεῖρας ἄγεσθαι. ↩

ὁ θεός. ↩

διεπρήστευσε: this or ἐπρήστευσε is the reading of most of the MSS. The meaning is uncertain, since the word does not occur elsewhere. Stein suggests that it may mean “scoffed (at the Scythians).” Various conjectures have been tried, e.g. διεδρήστυσε, διεδρηπέτευσε, etc. ↩

ὡς Σκύθας εἶναι: cp. II. 8. Some (e.g. Dindorf and Bähr) translate “considering that they are Scythians,” i.e. for a nation so famous and so widely extended. ↩

I.e. about 5300 gallons. ↩

ἐπὶ τῷ ἱρῷ: the MSS. mostly have ἐπὶ ἱρῷ, and Stein adopts the conjecture ἐπὶ ῥίῳ, “on a projecting point.” The temple would be that of Ζεῦς οὔριος mentioned in ch. 87. (In the Medicean MS. the omitted ἱ is